Very true. He's close to the end of his career so I'm sure he's looking for a bigger payday than the Sox can offer at this point, and also he'd prefer to play for a title contender.

With the lack of good hitting catchers out there, he'll probably get both.

I do think A.J. will be back with the Sox in some capacity after he retires.

We really missed the boat on him. He probably would have taken a one year deal with us last year (given he did the same with Texas). While that wouldn't have changed too much last season, things would have been a little more tolerable.

Very true. He's close to the end of his career so I'm sure he's looking for a bigger payday than the Sox can offer at this point, and also he'd prefer to play for a title contender.

With the lack of good hitting catchers out there, he'll probably get both.

I do think A.J. will be back with the Sox in some capacity after he retires.

I'm not sure why the Sox can't afford him, coming off a career best season in 2012 he was only able to get a 1-year, $7 million contract from the Rangers, this isn't exactly bank-busting stuff for a team like the Sox that cleared some $50 million in contracts off their books and have another $15 million coming off next off-season.

AJ, like probably every other player in the league, will take the deal that best compensates him. A lot of us expected him to cash in on his 2012 season and get that last big payday and call it a career last winter, but the market never materialized. MLB teams apparently aren't willing to offer big, long contracts to 36-year-old catchers. I don't know how the FA market will shape up this year, but it would be surprising to me if the big payday he didn't get last year materialized now, but then again, in baseball, it only takes one crazy owner to go and do something stupid.

I'm not sure why the Sox can't afford him, coming off a career best season in 2012 he was only able to get a 1-year, $7 million contract from the Rangers, this isn't exactly bank-busting stuff for a team like the Sox that cleared some $50 million in contracts off their books and have another $15 million coming off next off-season.

AJ, like probably every other player in the league, will take the deal that best compensates him. A lot of us expected him to cash in on his 2012 season and get that last big payday and call it a career last winter, but the market never materialized. MLB teams apparently aren't willing to offer big, long contracts to 36-year-old catchers. I don't know how the FA market will shape up this year, but it would be surprising to me if the big payday he didn't get last year materialized now, but then again, in baseball, it only takes one crazy owner to go and do something stupid.

Unless we're the crazy overpaying team, I can't see a 36 year old catcher with usable skills choosing to join a 63 win team. He'll still have lucrative one year offers to contenders, and that's the worst case scenario for him.

Unless we're the crazy overpaying team, I can't see a 36 year old catcher with usable skills choosing to join a 63 win team. He'll still have lucrative one year offers to contenders, and that's the worst case scenario for him.

And this is what people were saying last year, that he'd have all these lucrative offers from other teams and he winds up with a good, but still relatively modest, 1-year $7 million deal. I think people really over emphasize how much joining a contender means to most of these guys, 99 times out of 100, they're going with the team that gives them the most cash.

And this is what people were saying last year, that he'd have all these lucrative offers from other teams and he winds up with a good, but still relatively modest, 1-year $7 million deal. I think people really over emphasize how much joining a contender means to most of these guys, 99 times out of 100, they're going with the team that gives them the most cash.

Texas isn't a contender? They had just been to back to back World Series... We don't really know that was the only offer out there for him. But the one year deal he signed was probably a mix of money and contention.

We should have never let him leave to begin with. He was a productive LH bat in the middle of the order and should have been re-signed.

I was very irked when Rick Hahn was quoted a week after he signed with Texas that they needed another LH bat to balance the lineup.

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think one reason he wasn't re-signed was that they needed to choose between him and Jake Peavy .

I don't think there's any question that from a pure baseball standpoint you make him an offer. I think the bigger question is whether Rick Hahn or anyone else in a decision-making role in the organization would be willing to eat humble pie, admit they were wrong to let him leave, and make him an offer.

__________________"It's not the high price of stardom that bothers me...it's the high price of mediocrity." - Bill Veeck

Texas isn't a contender? They had just been to back to back World Series... We don't really know that was the only offer out there for him. But the one year deal he signed was probably a mix of money and contention.

He didn't say Texas wasn't a contender. Maybe you should read his post again.

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A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives- Jackie Robinson

We should have never let him leave to begin with. He was a productive LH bat in the middle of the order and should have been re-signed.

I was very irked when Rick Hahn was quoted a week after he signed with Texas that they needed another LH bat to balance the lineup.

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think one reason he wasn't re-signed was that they needed to choose between him and Jake Peavy .

I don't think there's any question that from a pure baseball standpoint you make him an offer. I think the bigger question is whether Rick Hahn or anyone else in a decision-making role in the organization would be willing to eat humble pie, admit they were wrong to let him leave, and make him an offer.

Addison Reed told you why they didn't bring him back.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by shoota

I'm not counting this homerun or his 3 RBI from today's game because of the game situation. I'm not counting his pinch hit solo homerun in a blowout win in Colorado. In my book, Crede has 2 less home runs than his statistics show, 4 less RBI, and one less walk (the one where he pinch hit for Uribe after coming in with a 3-0 count and taking one pitch).

Texas isn't a contender? They had just been to back to back World Series... We don't really know that was the only offer out there for him. But the one year deal he signed was probably a mix of money and contention.

We should have never let him leave to begin with. He was a productive LH bat in the middle of the order and should have been re-signed.

I was very irked when Rick Hahn was quoted a week after he signed with Texas that they needed another LH bat to balance the lineup.

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think one reason he wasn't re-signed was that they needed to choose between him and Jake Peavy .

I don't think there's any question that from a pure baseball standpoint you make him an offer. I think the bigger question is whether Rick Hahn or anyone else in a decision-making role in the organization would be willing to eat humble pie, admit they were wrong to let him leave, and make him an offer.

Meh...I don't disagree with the decision to letting him go to explore other options. They had to see what they would get from a full season of Flowers. That wouldn't be possible with AJ there. Unfortunately, what they got was garbage. And I disagree with the Sox having to choose Peavy over him. Peavy doesn't pitch every day.